In the office I work, there was this plant that wasn’t doing so great.

“Are you good with keeping plants alive?” my boss wanted to know. I smiled noncommittally and vocalized an “EEeehhh?” sort of sound if I’m remembering correctly.

A few days later and I’m cleaning and come across this withering plant again and think to myself, “Well, it’s dying here already. I guess the worst I can do is take it home and kill it a little faster.” So I kidnap the plant, text my boss afterward to let her know (better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?) put it on a sunny windowsill in my kitchen, and set a 1 month reminder to check how it’s doing.

Two weeks go by, and we have new growth! I text the boss a plant rehab update because this very important person with a very important job needs to know we have new nodules:

Another two or three weeks go by and now it’s today, and the buds look like they’re doing… something. I always like seeing plants in these early stages of growth, witnessing how they’re going to cleverly unfold themselves into those leaves and vines and stems I often unconsciously imagine as being a static feature of plant-dom.